This invention relates to a connector having an electromagnetic shielding function and adapted to be mounted on a board such as a printed circuit board known in the art.
A connector of the type is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,642 as an electrical connector. The electrical connector comprises an insulator housing surrounded by a back shell and a front shell which are made of conductive members, respectively. The back shell and the front shell are electrically connected to each other through mechanical contact at their portions. The front shell has a tap portion fixed via a screw to a casing panel or a chassis panel of an electric or electronic apparatus.
When the electrical connector is mounted to a circuit board, the electrical connector is electrically connected to the circuit board by the use of a grounding member. However, since the grounding member is required, the number of components is increased and assembling requires a lot of time and labor (a number of steps), resulting in an increase in cost.
When the electrical connector is attached to the panel, the front shell is pulled towards the chassis panel and applied with a load. If a connecting strength between the front shell and the housing or a connecting strength between the front shell and the back shell is weak, the front shell may possibly be released.
Further, the back shell is not terminated at the circuit board but a separate component connected to the front shell is terminated at the circuit board. Therefore, a grounding signal is difficult to flow towards the back shell. Further, the grounding signal flowing from the front shell may be reflected at an end portion of the back shell. In addition, if the contact between the front shell and the separate component is insufficient, an electrically stable loop can not be obtained. In this event, reflection may also occur at an end portion of the front shell. Such reflection causes electromagnetic interference to induce a noise.